Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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SEPTEMBER, 1961 CABOOSE M TO REST , 1 HI Mb J The following is a story cor written by Mr. William S. tribulations before arrival at Boy Scout Cabin. Mr. Cannor a member of the faculty at given freely of his time and t ing and converting the caboose Abandonments are always sad, particularly when the subject is a shortline railroad which has woven itself into the hearts and lives of many people. Railroad fans attend last rites and last trips of railroads and shed many a tear over some woe-begone streak of rust which has been laid to rest in the Valhalla of Rails. Such was the case in the town of Cornelia, Georgia, on March 23, 1961. when the Tallulah Falls Railway, after having been in financial difficulties for years, finally gave up the ghost and quit. The notices posted along its line simply said that since there was no money with which to operate. the line would cease to operate, and it did. The Tallulah Falls Railway was built in 1870 to serve a rugged portion of northeast Georgia and western North Carolina between the towns of Cornelia, Georgia, and Franklin, North Carolina. It was a (lead-end line, running the 57 miles into the North Carolina mountains with no connection save with the Southern Railway at Cornelia. This was partially the eventual undoing of the road for with no outlet at its north end. all freight and passengers went and came the same route. However, all has not been dark and dreary for the line. For years it was the elite tiling to do to make an excursion trip over the TF. Special trains made up in Atlanta for the trip to Franklin pass and to stations such as De morest, Clarkesville, Tallulah Falls, Clayton. Dillard. Wiley and Franklin. Freight was heavy in the days before the "hard roads" and the railroad even contributed to its LAKES LAST AS LYDIA SC of a retired railroad caboose Cannon . . . its triumphs and Lydia for conversion into a i, an avid train enthusiast, is Presbyterian Colleye. He has alents this summer in obtainfor the PniiK nt TVn ao own end by hauling many cars of materials into the mountains used to build the roads which finally killed it. Years went by, and the road went into receivership. Business kept falling off. and a petition to abandon was first entered in 1933, and granted . . . however, the road kicked up its heels and continued running year by year. Passenger service stopped in 1946 and the mail left the railroad in 1954; then a five-day-a-week freight took over the railroad and made its way over 42 trestles in the 57 miles . . . high wooden trestles which are difficult and expensive to maintain . . . trestles which could be extremely dangerous if left unattended for too long. Steam left the road and two 70 ton Diesel engines took over as the workhorses. Scenery and exciting trestles provided the background for two Hollywood movies: "I'd Climb The Highest Mountain" and Disney's "The Great Locomotive Chase". However, scenery and trestles will not pay the bills, after what could be called a valiant struggle with overwhelming odds, the Tallulah halls Railway ceased to operate. The track was sold in two parts . . . the first four miles to the Southern Railway, and the upper 53 miles to a group lit IllKinoecnmn < U* ilm - - S ?./ V??J1 iV-tJUl I IV II V ? t I I I ( ill I'll who hoped to operate it. Again, the lack of money to pay off debts and operate stopped the venture on the upper end. and the group sold their interests to a West Virginia scrap concern . . . interests which included 53 miles of track, cars, engines and cabooses, of which there were two. And THE CLOTHMAKER TRIP OUT CABIN here, Lydia Boy Scout Troop No. 90 came into the picture. Efforts bv several interested persons to obtain a caboose from several large railroads up to this time had been to no avail. Two of those interested, Claude Crocker. Industrial Relations Director, and Bill Cannon of Presbyterian College, h i t upon xne idea ol trying to get one of the caboose cars of the now defunct Tallulah Falls Railway for the Scouts to use. Correspondence was begun with the scrap company who advised that the cars were the property of a local veneer company in Cornelia. Several calls were made and it was finally established that Mr. J. W. Ballard was the owner, and that he would be glad for those intornstnrl tn i I. w 1 I 13 I I IIC Cell at Cornelia and he would talk a trade with the Company for the car. In midJulv. Mr. Crocker, Mr. Glen Downs, and Mr. Cannon made a trip to Cornelia to inspect the car and see if it would be suitable for the use proposed. After looking the car over thoroughly, it was the considered opinion of all concerned that the caboose "was just the thing" and the deal was on. However, it hit a snag before it got off the ground. Mr. Ballard stated that a man who owned a short line railroad in north Georgia wanted the car ior nis road and had first call at the buying of the caboose. Several weeks went by with the three men above anxiously awaiting news that the other party had agreed that the Scouts should have the car. and finally the call came that the caboose could come to Clinton. Then, the problem of how to get it horn r.n.K-i,ln..n,l e... .. ^ . v i??i w/uoivai vu 11?I t/\ 11 though a caboose is small by railroad standards, one does not just pull it home behind the family car. Hurried consultations were held first with the Southern Railway, which would haul the car to Greenville; the Atlantic c Coast Line, which would e haul it to Laurens; the Co- tl lumbia, Newberry and Lau- c rens, which would bring it o to Clinton; and the Seaboard b Air Line, which would take v if from Clinton proper to the mill spur at Lydia. All c agreed to do their part for a the Scouts, and the car was y inspected by Southern me- g chanical forces at Cornelia, o adjudged safe and sound for ii movement over their and o other lines, and started on r its way to Clinton on Fridav. a August 25th. b During all the waiting, p work was going on at Lvdia. v Tractors leveled the site, rails and ties were procured, a and a track was laid by n Mssrs. Downs and Cannon a with the help of Mr. Downs' o employees. Rock was hauled a from Blair especially for the c ballast, and the track was S' ''surfaced out" with track jacks and lining bars, leveled h perfectly with a transit, and t< sat waiting for the caboose h to come it its new home. s Finally the day came ... e tne caboose was in Laurens d and would come in on CN&L o Train 8 Tuesday the 29th of v August. Scout Master Ellis t Huffstetler, Crocker and 1 Cannon drove to Laurens to i] see the prize brought to town in style. The CN&L crew s coupled the "Tallulah Falls t X-5" into their train, and s the last leg of the trip to I Clinton was begun under a watchful eyes. The Seaboard f picked up the car from the e // ? M Clothmaker Photographer Ellis Hi graph of X-5 crossing the CN&L tres X-5 arrived in Clinton at 9:30 A.M. i CN&L's Local Freight -8. I O \ , o kpyc. V1'? \ ^ \ (T> \. ' \ X-5 traveled over four major railr to Lydia. Southern Railroad (Cornel Line (Greenville to Laurens) CN&I (Clinton to Lydia). GIVE THE UJs 7 onnection track and delivred it to the extreme end of hie spur at Lydia, where exept for a very short move nto a low-boy trailer, Caboose X-5 had turned a ;heel for the last time. The Caboose is now being leaned, scrubbed, repaired, nd painted. Grime from ears of rolling across Georia countryside was washed ff. New siding was applied n a few places; a new coat f waterproofing put on the oof, draw-bars and wheels s well as brake rigging have een painted. Bright new red aint and shining lettering /ill soon be put on the sides . . the car which once faced dreary end now faces a iew future with a new coat nd a bright outlook. Instead f death in a junk-yard, life s a Scout Hut, fully appreiated and loved rather than corned as useless and worn. While her sister cars may ave gone to scrap yards or o be lake houses, the "X-5" ias a home for good. True, he will not turn a wheel ver again nor clatter meloliouslv along the rail lengths f the Tallulah Falls, but she /ill be alive and useful to he community. If objects ike caboose cars have feelngs, we can be sure that the X-5" has a big tear of joy omewhere in one of her >rightened windows and that he is happy to "belong" at A-Hi a safp cniinH r- a roH _f /-.r y VM? VM AVSX , ind loved. A long road which or the "X-5" has a happy >nd. b. _ iffstetler made the above phototie over Little River in Laurens, on Tuesday. August 29th behind '7 A/ . \ J ^<*1 ?* ^ / Roort Of C^boosf-Cxwk to Lvd/a Sill. oads en route from Cornelia. Ga. ia to Greenville), Atlantic Coast ? (Laurns to Clinton) Seaboard HTED WAY